


Worthy

by stharridan



Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-31
Updated: 2012-05-31
Packaged: 2017-11-06 09:30:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/417339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stharridan/pseuds/stharridan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rukia wants to prove to Byakuya that she, too, is worthy to be called a Kuchiki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worthy

As a fine mist creeps into the training grounds, the dawn just awakening with groggy chirps and a light breeze, Rukia watches the movements of her brother with an intense stare, the will of fire burning within her with concentration.

 _Focus_ , she tells herself, _be quiet, listen, observe_. He doesn't need to tell her twice about what she's supposed to do when it's her turn to sit down and wait. She doesn't allow her eyes to wander around without a purpose, because she has a reason to be there. She wants to become stronger, wants to be the best that she can be so that she'll be able to protect her loved ones.

Byakuya, clad in a plain black shihakusho, raises his blade up to eye-level, its sharp tip pointing at a tree in the distance. It would have been odd to see the head of the Kuchiki clan without his precious scarf and haori, not to mention the hair accessories that are the symbol of his aristocracy, but Rukia has long gotten used to it. Watching as he swishes and twirls and slides around the training grounds, day after day, has imprinted his image into her mind, never to be forgotten for ages to come. Sometimes she'll peek around the corner just to watch, other times she'll sit right there, in her favourite spot, on the balcony.

Hems of the shihakusho flow out around him like water, moving in sync with his limbs, his zanpakuto that seems to glow in the faint mist, speaking straight to Rukia's heart. A shiver runs up her spine, a tingle shooting through her fingers of the hand that is holding Sode no Shirayuki. Just a while longer, she tells the restless spirit.

When Byakuya is finally done, finishing his sequence with a flick of his wrist that replaces the zanpakuto back in its sheath, Rukia is already on her feet, eager to start her morning exercise. As she walks to the middle of the training grounds, taking Byakuya's place, she catches a familiar glimmer in his gaze as he passes by.

Rukia bites her lower lip, grips the hilt of her zanpakuto tighter and, as the first rays of the morning wash over the Seireitei, her blade reflects the light and Rukia starts her dance. A dance that will prove to her brother - no, the _leader_ of her clan, that she's worthy to be called a Kuchiki. As worthy as the last woman who came before her.


End file.
